BOMBAY, 7 March 2003 — Everything is now cut and dried and the picture, seen through some damp eyes, is as clear as any bright and sunny day in Cape Town, or elsewhere in South Africa. But unfortunately, the sun did not shine for a couple of teams, when the support of the natural elements was most needed.
The teams that made up the Super Six stage of the World Cup, emerged from great joy and deep sorrow. Not many will agree, therefore, that the six who have come through from the long-drawn preliminary rounds, are the best from among the 14 contestants.
Pre-tournament predictions apart, there were enough opportunities for strong contenders like Pakistan, the West Indies, South Africa and England to grab a place in the second stage. In the end one could not put a finger on exactly the right spot on whether it was bad planning, inadequate burst of form at the right time or shades of bad luck, that eventually ousted them. I think it was a combination of all three.
Even before Pakistan came up against India in what was billed as the piece de resistance of what must be the best-organized World Cup so far, the 1992 champions and the 1999 runners-up, had done enough damage to their cause by losing a vital match to England. This on top of their not-so-surprising defeat at the hands of champions Australia, brought in its wake greater pressure on them.
Even though the batting finally came good in the all-important match against India, the more relaxed rivals were able to go all out without the fear of missing the Super Six bus and won handsomely in the end. The battle, however lived up to all-round expectations. It remains undoubtedly the best of the tournament so far for sheer quality of batsmanship and pace bowling and the taut and tense manner in which it was gone through.
While names like Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Wasim Akram, Chaminda Vaas, Collin Obuya, Glenn McGrath, Andy Bichel, Sanath Jayasuriya, Ashish Nehra and even John Davison, from minnows Canada, cornered the headlines earlier, on days 26 and 27 of the tournament, one had to contend with the most dreaded names in one-day cricket format.
The names do not belong to any team but to officialdom. Yes, the names are Duckworth and Lewis. The peculiar formula that is sought as a solution when rain plays the spoilsport and intervenes to cut short the duration of scheduled playing time, has been so named after its innovators.
After every possible permutations and combinations having failed, the D&C was agreed upon as being equitable. But surprisingly, there are any number of international players, team officials, not to mention members of the media, much less the lay public, who are not fully literate with the Duckworth-Lewis system and its practical application. Many still do not know how it operates and rely on the chart that is provided. The West Indies, who had looked so good at the start, getting the better of one of the pre-tournament favorites, South Africa, became the first victim of a rain-ruined match. And what a match it was to drop valuable points. Their game against Bangladesh was totally rained off.
But the dreaded formula did stop South Africa from making the second stage and ruined whatever slender hopes Pakistan had of somehow making it in all desperation. While rain came only toward the end of the match to upset all calculations of their hopes, Pakistan’s last match against Zimbabwe was totally ruined by rain.
Coming to the point about the players not being fully well-versed with the Duckworth & Lewis system, South Africa completely either misread the ready-reckoner, or had it erroneously explained to them. When dark clouds had gathered over Kingsmead (Durban) and few drops began to fall, reserve player, Nicky Boje was sent to convey a message to Mark Boucher, who was at the crease and going great guns, that they need get a total of 229 at the end of 45 overs. And that is what they did, taking care not to lose their sixth wicket.
The South African team and their supporters were blissfully ignorant of the actual figures. The total of 229 for 5 actually helped them to tie the match and not win it. For victory, they needed another five runs. Then came the downpour and all hopes of resuming the match went down the drain.
If there is one fault that can be picked from an otherwise excellent organization of the tournament, it is the absence of a reserve day for rain-ruined matches. This provision is this only for the Super Six stage and the semis and the final.
While the tournament moves on, it is time for introspection time for the likes of South Africa, Pakistan, West Indies and England.
